Rotator for valves of internal-combustion engines



w. G. BUCK d RQTATOR FOR VALVES OF INTERNAL COMBUSTIONENGINES Filed 15, 191s Patented dan.. 1, 1924.

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WILMER G. BUCK, OF FREMONT, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR TO CONTINENTAL ENGINEER- ING CORPORATION, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA, A CORPORATION OF NEBRASKA.

.ROTATOR FOR VALVES OF 'INTERNAL-C'Ol'vIBUSTION ENGINES.

lApplication filed March 13, 1918. Serial No. 222,119.

To @ZZ whom t may concern.'

13e it known that I, VViLMnR Gr. BUCK, a citizen of the United States, residing at F remont, in the county of Dodge and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotators for Valves of Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a device for imparting a rotative movement to a predetermined degree to the puppet valve of an internal combustion engine, and is based upon the general principle disclosed in my United States Patent No. 1,183,852 of May 23, 1916, and United States Patent lNo. 1,244,287 er october 23, 1917.

The general object of the invention is to provide means for imparting a rotative movement to thevalve stem and valve while the said parts are moving in one direction.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficient means for attaching the device to the stem of the ordinary valve, whereby practically no change is necessitated in the construction of such stem nor any weakening thereof.

A further ob] ect of the invention is to construct and arrange the parts which produce the rotative movement so that the amount of friction between them is reduced to a'small degree. y

A further object of the invention is to eX- p'ose the parts for producing the rotative movement so that they may readily receive oil during the running of the enginey and thus be kept in the desired state of lubrication. y

The invention further consists in the features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter described andclaimed.

1n the drawings: n

' Figure 1 is a cross section through a portion of an engine casing, showing one of the piston chambers and one of the valve chambers with the rotator of the present invention in operating position; Y v

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross section through the rotator mechanism;

i Figure 3 is a plan view;

Figure 4 is a section on line 4 4 of Figure 2; and K Figure 5 is an under face view of the connection betweenthe valve stem and rotator device.

fit.

taining a piston 5, a piston chamber 6, pushrod chamber 7 piston rod 8, and a valve tappet actuating cam 9. All of the above may be of any suit-able type of construction.

As shown, there is a passage 10 between the valve chamber and the chamber in which the crank shaft (not shown) operates. Oil may pass through this opening and become vaporized in the chamber 7 by the heat therein. This has to do with the lubrication of lthe rotator mechanism, as will be hereinafter explained. The said rotator mechanism is applied to a valve stem 11, which carries upon its upper end the ordinary puppet valve 12 resting upon the usual seat 13. The said valve may be of such style and size as desired.

The rotator mechanism consists of a sleeve 14 terminating in a head 15, which is grooved to provide a ball-race 16. Upon its outer face, the head is recessed as at 17, and resting within said recess is a horseshoe key 18, which straddles the valve stem, said stem being flattened on each side to receive said key. This method of connecting the valve stem and head 15 of the rotator device makes said connection firm and rigid, and eliminates any boring of holes in the valve stem, which might weaken the structure thereof. Merely flattening each side of the stem in the manner shown does not weaken the same, and' is a very `quick and easy manufacturing operation. The recess 17 is of an elongated nature so that any rotative movement imparted to the sleeve 14 will be transmitted to the valve stem 11 by the elongated connection therebetween.

Positioned above the head 15 is a ring 19, having formed therein a ball-race 20, and traveling within said races 16 and 20 are balls 21. This ring 19 is secured to the sleeve 14 in any suitable manner, as, for instance, by a collar 22 put on with a driving The sleeve 14 terminates at its upper end in a toothed clutch surface 23. Positioned above the sleeve 14 is a sleeve 24 loose upon the valve stem, and for the purpose of clearness indescription, the sleeve 14 may be referred to as the lower sleeve and the lOl) sleeve 24 as the upper sleeve, although it is understood that these terms areA descriptive ones and not intended as terms of limitation,

The upper sleeve 24 is formed at its lower edge with a toothed clutch surface 25, adapted to c-o-operate' with the toothed surface 23 on thesleeve 14 in a manner to effect a clutch connectionV therebetween, as will be hereinafter explained.L Extending from the sleeve 24 are oppositely -disposed pintles 26, upon which are mounted rollers 27, which latter are held inplace by means of washers28, the ends of the' pintles bein-g slightly ,upset or,v otherwise configured to hold the washers in place. These rollers travel within, spiral slots 29 iormedin a fixed bushing 30.

The rollers, as will be understoodirom the drawings, have a slight amount of play in the slots, so. thatfin moving either up or down they engage only with one wall otl the slots... Thus, the amoun-t of friction between the rollers .and the walls of the slot is very slight, which is advantageous in that there: 1s no. appreciable impedance offered to the normal vmovement of the valvcby the application theretoot the rotating device, and the. device can operate with very little lubricant. In fact, it is believed that no lubricant .at all would be necessary to opera-- tion, although it would be advantageous.

Formed inthe upper portion ot the sleeve 2'4is arecess 31, which receives a horseshoeshaped washer 32. This washerV is formed with acircular periphery adapted to seat within the recess 31, so that it may rotate therein, andis-provided with an elongated slot 34, the walls 35. of` which engageA with oppositely flattened portions 36 on the valve.

stem. The washer, seating as it does within thel recess 31, cannot become displaced and is eiiective .as a means for returning the slee-vek 24 tof'lowered positionupon down ward Vmovement of thevalve stem, as will appear hereinafter.

Itshaspreviously been described how the valve stem `11 is connected to the sleeve 14 through the instrumentalities: oi the horseshoe washer 18, which seatswithin-.the recess 17 in the head 15, and Vis locked tothe valve stem by engaging flattened surfaces thereon. The preceding paragraph discloses how the washer 32 is connected to theA valve stem by simply. forming flat spots on the latter. Thus, the parts which joiny the valve stem to the various portions ofthe rotator device consist of the two horseshoe washers 18 and 32, each of which are applied by merely grinding `flattened lsurfaces on the valve stems at their point of application-a very simple manufacturing step.v Moreover, substantial bearing surfaces are given to various connectionsso that they are firmly held in position and are capable of efficiently performing their functions, and all of the above advantageous results obtained with-y so that they become very readily lubricated w by the vaporized. oil within the valveychamber 7 and nothingelse isneededlto keep these parts in. workable lubricatedi condition, especially as owing to the smallfsurface contact between them, only, slight lubrication. is neede Y The operation is 'thought to he clearfrom the foregoing, but briefly is as follows.: Upon contact of thelower endf ofthe valve stem by the tappet rod, the said stem is lifted, and by reasonoi thekey connection with the head 15, the sleeve 14 is advanced upwardly and the clutch surfaces 23 and 25 brought into clutching engagement. Fin ther upwardmovement of thel valvestem and the sleeve 14, also, raises the sleeve This causes an upward movement oi the rollers 28 in the slots 29, and because of the helical formation of the slots, a turning movementis imparted tothe sleeve Byv reason of the clutch connection between this sleeve and the sleeve 14,I the latter sleeve is turned., and this turning movement turns the head 15; and by reason of the keyandzrecess connection between` thfisli'ead; and'wthefy valve stem, the latter is'rotatfed, givingythe valve 12 a rotative movement.-` Thezadvantages. of. such' movement have been; fully explained inl my patents previously referred to and will not` be detailed'fat this .time

When the cam releases from the end ofthje tappet, a spring `38 acts to move thehead- V15 and sleeve 14 downward,-V breaking the clutchconnection between thesurfaces 23 and 25', and returningthe sleeve 14, valve stem andv valve to lowered position.l The sleeve 24 is returned to lowered position by the washer32 carried by the valvestemjengaging with thel lower wallet the recessl, and thus the partsvare returned to normal position7 but with no rotative movement-being imparted to the valve stem, since;v the clutch connection is broken between the sleeves 24 and 14, and the sleeve 24,'being loose upon the stem, moves back to its lowered position without impartingv a rotative movement to the stem;

While the device has been describedwith considerable p articulajrity, it isY not deemedV to be limited in any othermannerrthan by4 the terms of thev appended'claims- I claim:

1. In a device of the classjde'scribed,the combination of a valve stenna valvesecured to the stem, a lower sleeve, a head on the lower end of said sleeve, anon-circular recess in the under face of said head, a washer embracing the stem and having a transverse sliding and non-rotative engagement with said stem, said washer resting in said head recess and having the periphery thereof of complementary configuration to the walls of the recess, the periphery of the washer and the walls of the recess co-operating to form an interlocking non-rotative connection between said stem and sleeve, a sleeve loose on the stem, means for effecting a connection between said fast and loose sleeves upon movement of the stem, and means for imparting a rotative movement to said loose sleeve while said sleeves are connected, whereby a rotative movement is imparted t'o the stem during the movement thereof, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a valve stem, a valve secured to the stem, a lower sleeve, a head on the lower end of said sleeve, a non-circular recess in the under face of said head, a washer embracing the stem and having a transverse sliding and non-rotative engagement with said stem, said washer resting in said head recess and having the periphery thereof of complementary configuration to the walls of the recess, the periphery of the washer and the walls of the recess co-operating to form an interlocking non-rotative connection between said stem and sleeve, means for effecting a connection between said sleeves upon upward movement of said stem, means for imparting a rotative movement to the loose sleeve while said sleeves are connected, whereby a rotative movement is imparted to the valve stem, means for breaking said connection between said sleeves upon downward movement of the va'lve stem, a washer intermediate the valve stem and embracing the stem, and having a transverse sliding and non-rotative engagement with said stem, the upper end of said loose sleeve being formed with a. recess in which said washer rests, said washer having a turning t in said recess, and said recess being of suficient depth to prevent movement of the washer out therefrom during operation of the parts, said washer engaging the floor ing of the recess and acting to move the loose sleeve downward when the parts return to snorrnal position and after the connection between said sleeves has been broken, sub'- stantially as described.

WILMER G. BUCK. 

